Vindicator
by hummingbirdtea
Summary: The White Knight. The Burning Dragon. The Bird Of Prey. The Nevermore. This is the most legendary team ever to walk the halls of Beacon Academy. This is Team STRQ.
1. White Knight and Bird Of Prey

_Miss Rose, I am happy to report that you have been accepted into Beacon Academy._

Summer was ready. Ready to fight, ready to win, ready to save people who couldn't save themselves. She wasn't necessarily ready for the announcement that she'd be launched sky-high into a forest crawling with Grimm for her initiation, but that was okay, she thought, she was ready to figure something out. How bad could it be? She had Anther and Filament - her trusty sickles, all bright and red and shiny from the not-necessarily-allowed paint job she'd given them at the Beacon forge lust night to calm her nerves. She had her cape, which she'd bore all the teasing for for four whole years, nothing new, they came for her eyes and her sickles too. And she had four straight years as the top student of Soutien Academy under her belt, ready to show just how much they could count.

_I am certain you will become a fine young Huntress here, just keep your eyes to the sky.  
_

The headmaster's words echoed in her head as she flew through the sky. Professor Osiris was considered as some to be eccentric. He was considered by Summer to be crazy. But good crazy, the old Huntsman made her feel welcome and quelled her fears over attending one of the most prestigious Academies in Remnant. To her, he was a simple soul, his silver eyes so similar to hers.

But Professor Osiris had just sent her flying, so he wouldn't be much help in this situation. She had no idea what would be. Her Semblance wouldn't be much help either, she'd still be plummeting. Out of options, she held Anther and Filament out in front of her, hoping to find a thick enough branch. Whatever gods Remnant must hold were smiling down on her that moment, she thought, for she came across the perfect branch to swing herself over and onto the ground.

_Wherever it may take you._

Well, not the ground. Summer fell right into what looked like an enormous red gash in the world, and before having the wind knocked out of her thought that perhaps landing in perhaps some sort of Grimm portal trap was not the best way to start her career as a Huntress.

* * *

Raven Branwen was not having the best of days.

She would infinitely rather be hunting in the great wilderness of Anima, climbing trees and shouting and bringing home food, than in some sort of Academy, stuck in an itchy blazer all day instead of the billowing sleeves of her Hunting clothes, even if it would return a hero, the bandit Huntress, by the end. But she was a Branwen, and Branwens don't complain, so she kept quiet to everyone but Qrow.

Raven supposed that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. She was allowed to wear her own clothes for practicals, she could tune her weapon or grab a snack or mend her clothes whenever she wanted, and at least she stuck the landing. Though she still wished she could create mid-air portals, ground-based ones would do just fine to get to her brother, whatever hellish place he might have found himself.

Raising her sword, she slashed downwards, and took a moment to smile at the smoky portal formed before her eyes. She always did find them pretty. If she squinted, she could even see Qrow's silhouette, transforming his greatsword, Harbinger, into its larger form, an enormous scythe, modern technology in the traditional Mistralian fashion.

She barely stepped through when something knocked her back.

That something was bright silver, a tiny girl in shining armour lying before her, just as confused as she was. The portal had since faded. The girl looked up, her silver eyes so unlike her and her brother's.

_Well, shit._

"You're my partner?"

The girl had started to get up, and Raven nodded. This girl was not at all Qrow. But she seemed nice enough anyway, so Raven didn't immediately portal away.

"I guess. And who are you?"

She straightened herself up and held out a gloved hand for Raven to shake. "Summer Rose, graduate of Soutien Academy in Atlas. You?"

"Uh, Raven. Raven Branwen."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Raven," said Summer, "I suppose we're partners now. Let's go."

At least she didn't mess around. To Raven, Summer was no Qrow. From what she'd heard, Soutien was an Atlas private Academy, so Summer likely spent her youth cutting through holograms and fancy things like that. She didn't have the hardness in her eyes that Raven herself had, but there was a certain steely intensity to her soft silver eyes anyway. And as long as Qrow kept his head with a different partner, they'd both be on track to completing their mission.

* * *

"Uh, Summer?"

"Yeah, Rae?"

"We're being followed."

And sure enough, a King Taijitu slithered out from between the trees, towering over Summer and Raven.

"Damn, you don't get them that big over in Mistral," mused Raven before taking out her sword.

"That's what she said," replied Summer, drawing Anther and Filament from her belt, "Now we gonna kill this thing or what?"

"You sound like my brother."

And with that, Raven slashed upwards with her sword, leaving a trail of fire in her wake. The Grimm recoiled, and she slashed a cut into its scaly hide, the Dust blade shattering into pieces inside the Grimm. Raven sheathed the sword, and pulled it out now with a sky-blue blade, with every cut the Taijitu sustained being icy cold.

As much as Summer wanted to see her partner in action, she had other things on her mind. Anther and Filament, despite being fiery-red, had no Dust capabilities whatsoever, so she had to make up for that with speed. Summer dashed around the body of Grimm, hacking away with the sickles but only leaving scratches as the other head hissed down at her. This was not a workable solution.

_Deep breaths, Summer. Deep breaths._

"Raven, new plan!"

"Let's hear it."

"You take the black head, I'll take the white," she called to her partner, running up the Grimm's giant spine, "On the count of three, we decapitate them."

Summer reached the top of the white head and sunk Anther in between the Grimm's eyes, hanging on for dear life.

"One!"

Raven sank her blade into the Grimm and dragged it with her as she ran, freezing her half of the Taijitu as she ran to the top.

"Two!"

Summer swung back and forth, gripping her sickles, to gain as much momentum as she could to pull her trick off. Raven steadied herself on top of the Grimm's flat head and raised her sword.

"Three!"

Letting go of Anther, Summer used the momentum to swing Filament towards the Grimm, slicing its neck off cleanly and kicking it to the ground. Raven took care of her end quickly enough, her ice blade shattering as the Grimm dissolved into thick black fog.

Raven sheathed her handle. "Well. It'll be nice working with you, Summer. You,uh, kept a good head."

"But Rae, you were the coolest! That sword of yours can pack a punch!"

Raven smiled. "Thanks, Sum."

The smaller girl grinned, and hugged her partner. "We're going to be the best of friends, I know it!"

And Raven didn't immediately object.

* * *

"Hah, some relic. These were scattered all over the dorms back at Soutien."

Raven smirked, tucking the playing card - ace of hearts - into her belt as they walked back to Beacon Cliff. "You Soutien nerds. Playing solitaire on breaks and stuff, I'm assuming."

"What do you take us for Rae, Mantle Academy kids?" snorted Summer, "We mostly just played blackjack. The real shit, like they do in Vacuo."

"Sure, Sum. You trying to make cards badass is hilarious."

"Talk to me when you rope your dorm-mate into sneaking you snacks in every class."

Raven shrugged. "That's fair. You know, I've heard that they recycle relics every few years. My brother worked it out. It's going to be chess pieces next year, then tarot cards, then rings."

"So some poor schmucks down the line are going to have to use playing cards too?"

"Yeah, in like, twelve years. I wish we got something cool like rings."

"True, but these cards are pretty sick," said Summer, shielding her eyes from the sun, "They didn't skimp on designs this year."

"I guess you have a point, Little Miss Scythe."

"Hey!" laughed Summer, shoving Raven, "They're _sickles_! Totally different!"

"Oversized gardening tools are oversized gardening tools. What are their names?"

"Anther and Filament," smiled Summer, "They're nothing super high-tech, no guns or stuff. How does your sword work?"

Raven unhooked the sheath from her belt. "See here? Rotary chamber. The only thing permanent about my weapon is this, and the handle. I load Dust blades into here, pick one to use in battle, and fight with it until it shatters. I gotta replace a bunch when we get back."

"Sick. What's it's name?"

Raven paused, then drew the handle out, the purple blade gleaming in the afternoon light.

"Vindicator."

* * *

**So in my defence I only learnt that cards were used for CFVY's initiation about ten minutes ago but I worked it into the story as best I could. **

**Welcome to Vindicator! I've been wanting to write RWBY fanfiction for a while, but I never really got around to it until now. I decided to start with a good old STRQ fic, because I have so many headcanons about these guys and nowhere to put them. Don't expect frequent updates. Despite the name, it's still about the whole team, not really Raven-centric.**

**I hope you enjoyed Summer and Raven! I'll write Qrow and Taiyang's initiation experience next chapter.**


	2. Burning Dragon and Nevermore

Taiyang Xiao Long had cleared his fair share of Beowolves from the grounds of the Mistral Embassy Institute, but this time, he found something different amongst the smoke from the dying Grimm. _Aw, shit, death has a scythe, right? _

But death hadn't come for Tai yet. Death wasn't a scrawny boy with soft red eyes matching his cape. Tai blinked. _Guess that's my partner. _

"Yo, scythe guy! I'm Tai! We're partners!"

The boy's hand curled into a fist, and his eyes flashed in anger. "You're not my partner. Raven is, wherever the fuck she is."

"No clue what you're talking about, dude," said Tai, stuffing his brass knuckles in their pocket, "Not sure what you heard, but Osiris said the first person who you make eye contact with is your partner."

"But-"

"No buts. We're partners now. Bros. Ride or dies."

The boy deactivated his scythe. "I have no idea what you just said."

"You'll learn," said Tai with a laugh, "I'm Taiyang Xiao Long! I trained at the Mistral Embassy in Vale, and I'm ready to kick some Grimm ass!"

The boy narrowed his eyes, as if he was examining his new partner. "Qrow Branwen."

"Qrow. Like the bird?"

"Sure."

"Rad. I bet we're going to be the best of friends! Where are you from? What combat school did you go to? What's your weapon called? What can it do? Why-"

"Okay, you can shut the fuck up right now."

"Aw man, don't be like that! We're going to be together for a long-ass time, so I suggest you play nice."

Qrow's eyes darted to the side, as if he was considering leaving this idiot brawler in the dust. "Fine. I don't want to be kicked out. But that doesn't mean I have to like you."

"Trust me, Qrow Branwen, you will."

* * *

And he did.

Taiyang was an absolute idiot, but Qrow couldn't help but chuckle at the blonde's puns and effervescent personality. _Effervescent. _Sounds like something Raven would read to him, then laugh. She probably found it in a stolen romance novel, the trashy ones that some of the older tribe members seemed to hoard.

It was just his luck that Raven didn't get there in time to be his partner.

Luck, Qrow thought, was a bitter taste that lingered enough to be a problem but never enough to benefit him in any way. One of the bandits in the tribe worked as a Semblance examiner before defecting and joining the Branwens. He confirmed what the tribe had thought for a while: his Semblance was bad luck, non-discriminatory between Qrow's friends and enemies. He'd never admit it, but he cried the night that the chief looked down on him in disdain.

But they found a new use for him. Before every village raid, they'd send Qrow out a day or two early, a harbinger. He activated his Semblance, and often the town was already in a turbulent patch when the Branwens came. Any Grimm that gave him and his drained Aura hell was his and exclusively his problem. He soon learnt to swing his scythe not to show off, but to get them away from him as quickly as possible.

But he'd got used to hiking through forests quietly, navigating and keeping his cool, which helped in regards to finding the relics, and keeping Taiyang on track. And sure enough, they got to the temple in no time at all.

"What?" questioned Taiyang, squinting at the seemingly empty plinths, "Where on earth are they?"

"No, look closer," said Qrow, walking towards the relics.

He stopped at the nearest plinth, seeing a single playing card held down by a scattering of pebbles. Ace of hearts.

"Playing cards. Heh, I guess this'll do, Tai. Can't be too easy to keep them down on the plinths."

"Yeah!" said Tai, "Imagine just rocking up to the temple and your relics have blown away!"

* * *

"Dude, what's your Semblance?"

"A burden."

Tai chuckled. "Don't be like that, it can't be _that _bad."

"It's bad luck, Taiyang. It doesn't discriminate who it affects. I can't turn it off."

The atmosphere became chilly.

"Dude, I'm so sorry."

"No need, I've lived with it my whole life," replied Qrow, forcing lightness into his voice, "What's yours?"

"Oh man, I call it my _Tai_-noculars," laughed Tai, waiting a moment for Qrow to acknowledge his pun, "Get it? Like, binoculars, but Tai? Never mind, I'm hilarious. Basically I can zoom in on my target and find weak points from really far away. I'm a brawler, but if I use my Semblance, I can attack from as far away as I like!"

Tai wasn't joking around, Qrow realised, he really had trained at the Mistral Embassy. A certain strain of Mistralian martial arts, known only really by Anima dwellers, focused on using Dust-enhanced aura blasts, as well as more traditional forms of combat, to easily dispatch of Grimm. It was the only ranged martial art in all of Remnant, and it took years of focused training to get to Tai's level. One time, when Qrow was younger, a group of Mistralian nomads almost overwhelmed the tribe. _No one ever overwhelmed the Branwens._

Qrow squinted at something in the distance. "You wanna show me, Tai?"

Two Beowolves lumbered out from the trees, and Qrow wasted no time shifting Harbinger to its scythe form. Shooting Tai a look, he leapt into battle, slashing away at one of the Grimm. Tai shrugged, and slipped his brass knuckles on. Almost automatically, Tai let his Aura activate the dust in the brass knuckles, forming a fiery arc around around his fist as it slammed into the Grimm. He followed it with a kick and a hook, and leapt back as the Grimm's vision swirled.

Tai's Semblance activated. He saw where most of his damage had gone, and cupped his hands, moving them near his hips. He let his Aura fill the space between his palms, glowing with life. He brought his palms up, and fired the energy ball at the Beowolf, instantly killing it.

Tai stepped back and smirked at Qrow, who had since beheaded his Grimm with little difficulty. "You impressed, Branwen?"

"Maybe you might be an okay partner after all, Xiao Long. Time will tell"

And the two walked back to Beacon Cliffs, all thoughts of bad luck and the Mistral Embassy far behind them.

* * *

**Yes, I gave Tai the ability to Hadouken. Don't kill me.**

**I've always liked the idea of Tai and Qrow as partners, romantically or otherwise. They just seem to work well together.**

**What did you think of this chapter? How do you think the two halves of Team STRQ will get along with one another?**

**Thank you for reading!**


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